Fredrik Wikingsson is part of a well known Swedish TV-duo (comedy mostly) - Fredrik and Filip. They work for a commercial station called Channel 5 (Kanal 5). And he's also a long time Bob Dylan fan. This concert is part of an advertising project for an Alandian casino company (Paf) called "Experiment Alone": people are set to experience things like going to a comedy club or a karaoke bar by themselves. Why? Don't ask me...

Didn't he shout out for any favourites? You know, make it more like a real gig.

Sounds brilliant and it was nice that Bob actually agreed to do it. Yes he got paid but i doubt he needs the money so he must've thought it was an interesting idea.
However it is very disappointing that the audience didn't shout Judas, slow handclap him and boo the band at every opportunity etc..

Silly....I am not impressed. Was it a 30 minute set? lol

Wonderful! What a set, and what an experience it must have been for this fan

oh the humanity of it all !

Bob Dylan is the last guy anyone would expect to be involved in something like this. I think that is why he did it. That and the undisclosed sum of money

"Bob Dylan Public Domain, 50th anniversary recordings (1964) will be a one off pressing limited to 1000 across Europe. The format will be a 9 piece LP Vinyl in a slipcase.
Release date 8th Dec".





[twitter.com]

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the 2015 thread.

I was told after the Dylan show by people who have seen him before, that he performs his "classic" songs live in a way that makes them unrecognizable.
Proved to be true in this case with "Blowin' in the Wind."

I enjoyed the show...I just didn't know any of the songs, except 1 (and one I didn't recognize.) The other aspect was that he plays the EXACT same setlist night after night, yet the Stones are "criticized" for playing mostly the same setlist every night.

Quote
6s7s9s
Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the 2015 thread.

I was told after the Dylan show by people who have seen him before, that he performs his "classic" songs live in a way that makes them unrecognizable.
Proved to be true in this case with "Blowin' in the Wind."

I enjoyed the show...I just didn't know any of the songs, except 1 (and one I didn't recognize.) The other aspect was that he plays the EXACT same setlist night after night, yet the Stones are "criticized" for playing mostly the same setlist every night.

I saw Bob several times between 1994 - 2006. The shows were mostly excellent and the setlists were varied featuring a few of his better known songs, random album cuts and choice covers. I never saw the same show twice. Even if I went to multiple dates on the same leg of the tour.

I'm surprised he's settled on static setlists these days. I appreciate much of his new stuff, but am not all that interested in the current set he's playing.

Review from his final show for this leg of 'Never Ending tour" at the Beacon Theater, NY:


Bob Dylan Closes 2014 Tour With Masterful Beacon Theatre Gig
The legendary singer-songwriter adds new nuance to an old set list at his final show of the year

By Andy Greene | December 4, 2014

> Dylan@Beacon

Bob Dylan's recent concerts have been scattershot affairs. Many nights are sublime, but on others he appears to be phoning it in, growling his way through old hits and leaving most everyone but hardcore fans struggling to figure out even the title of the song.

It's anyone's guess what changed over the past few months, but at the final performance of his five-night stand at New York's Beacon Theatre – his amazing 91st show of the year – Dylan sounded magnificent. He was expressive, clear, articulate, intensely focused and visibly pleased. Without a doubt, it was the most enjoyable Dylan concert in recent memory.

Part of the change might be related to his decision to dump most of what he wrote before Time Out of Mind, breaking out just two songs from the 1960s and two others released between 1970 and 1997. That's a bold move for an artist with a back catalog as beloved as Dylan's – one few of his peers would even dream of pulling. As usual, he opened with "Things Have Changed," his Oscar-winning song from the Wonder Boys soundtrack. It was a very appropriate choice because the 1999 tune marked the exact moment when he stopped working with outside producers, opting simply to do the job himself. The vast majority of the rest of the night was a trip through the four (non-Christmas) albums he created in the following years.

Dylan recorded these albums with his touring band, and although the crew has rotated some, its core has been bassist Tony Garnier, drummer George Recile, rhythm guitarist Stu Kimball, lead guitarist Charlie Sexton and multi-instrumentalist Donnie Herron for quite a long time. They've turned into an amazingly tight unit, and the fact that they've been doing this exact 19-song set list for months and months meant that they easily nailed every nuance. Sexton was particularly impressive: He may not shred like he did during his original late-1990s and early-2000s run with Dylan, but in many ways the delicate and refined approach on display last night was even more impressive.

The pre-intermission set featured a slow and reworked "Workingman's Blues #2," a haunting "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" and a rollicking "Duquesne Whistle." Dylan alternated between playing his piano on the side of the stage and standing dead center without an instrument. The set wrapped up with an amazing double shot of "Tangled Up in Blue" and "Love Sick." He's been rewriting the lyrics to the former song for 40 years, meaning you'll never quite know how the tale of star-crossed lovers will proceed until he actually starts singing.

After a brief intermission, Dylan returned with "High Water (for Charley Patton)" and "Simple Twist of Fate," the Blood on the Tracks gem inspired by his breakup with early New York girlfriend Suze Rotolo. Dylan has been forced to relive their sad separation by the waterfront docks for decades, and hearing him sing it just a quick subway ride from their old neighborhood was particularly moving. It's also the kind of moment that tends to get swallowed up and lost when Dylan plays at basketball arenas or large outdoor amphitheaters – seeing this show in a theater is a different experience entirely.


The only real misstep came near the end of the second set, when he moved through "Early Roman Kings," "Forgetful Heart" and "Spirit on the Water." These are all bluesy songs, and they sort of blur together when played in sequence. Dylan threw a bone to the casual fans by kicking off the encore with "Blowin' in the Wind," then went right back to baffling everyone but the trainspotters when he wrapped the show with "Stay With Me." It's a tune that Frank Sinatra popularized in 1964 and will likely appear on Dylan's upcoming covers record Shadows in the Night. "I grow cold, I grow weary and I know I have sinned," he sang, sounding as if he truly meant every word. "And I go seeking shelter and I cry in the wind."

He walked offstage without saying a thing, bringing an end to the 26th consecutive year of the Never Ending Tour. No dates are on the books for 2015, but it's hard to imagine this train stopping any time soon. When it resumes, it's possible he'll continue doing this same exact set list (his most unchanging show since the early-1980s gospel tours), but he might also revamp the whole thing. The only consistent thing in Dylan's career is that nobody ever knows where he's headed next. ?

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-12-06 00:09 by Hairball.

Thanks for sharing Hairball. Great review. "Forgetful heart" for me a few months back was simply brilliant.I didn't notice thinking this three tracks were kind of blurred together but you may very well be right. Just that the middle of the trio was just so good that I probably failed to notice.

I think the trick to Dylan is to see him in small venues. I've seen him at a stadium show, and arena show and now a ballroom and the latter was built just for him it felt.

His set lists are fine by me as it inspired me to go and buy everything from "Time out of mind" onward. Man what was I missing? If he were playing venues as large as the Stones and charging the extraordinary prices they do then people could rightly bitch that he should play 20 classics and then leave the stage. I'm glad he's not though.

Thanks for the review, Hairball!

It could be that the 'static' setlists (he still varied to an extent during European leg, but now in America settled the whole thing to a fixed deal) might be boring to the fans who used to the idea that one never know what will hear next he was so famous for earlier (and not so long ago). However, I'm with the writer here that this offers a new template for Dylan and the band to really work out the songs, and discover new nuances. Dylan's singing has been significantly better than for ages, and probably the chance to do every night the same songs also inspires him to get more 'into the songs'. Dylan has never been famous for rehearsing one bit, so this new concept - the same set every night - makes him sound more professional and focused than earlier. What they say that old dogs don't learn new tricks? Well, with Dylan that's not true... I tend to think that the static setlist thing is really an artistic choice - he's now up to something, trying to achieve something novel by repitition.

But it is a helluva set list:

Things Have Changed
She Belongs To Me
Beyond Here Lies Nothin'
Workingman's Blues #2
Waiting For You
Duquesne Whistle
Pay In Blood
Tangled Up In Blue
Love Sick
High Water (For Charley Patton)
Simple Twist Of Fate
Early Roman Kings
Forgetful Heart
Spirit On The Water
Scarlet Town
Soon After Midnight
Long And Wasted Years
Blowin' In The Wind
Stay With Me

Like the writer mentioned, there is only a couple of pieces from the 60's and 70's, the bulk of the material is from his masterful re-born album TIME OUT OF MIND (1997) on. So anyone who is interested in nostalgia, and want to see the legend, and hear all the familiar classic songs, should be warned... Just to think of the Stones doing a show having only three or four songs from the 60's and 70's, the rest being from BRIDGES TO BABYLON on (or since the Stones are not so keen releasing new stuff any longer, let's say, from STEEL WHEELS on)...

- Doxa

Quote
OzHeavyThrobber
I didn't notice thinking this three tracks were kind of blurred together but you may very well be right.

For the record, I did not write the review. (see Dylan@ Beacon )

And I agree with everything you mention Doxa, and the the thought of the Stones playing only tunes from their last 4 or 5 albums (give or take a classic here and there) has been discussed earlier in this thread.
Whereas Dylan is able to pull it off due to his recent output since Time Out of Mind being of high quality for the most part, I don't think I could handle seeing a Stones show with a similar format due to the inferior product - and that's putting it mildly. To be blunt about it, I think it would border on being ridiculous.

Also to quote a tidbit of an earlier review I did write:

"All in all it was a sublime experience, and I'm thanking my lucky stars I had the courage to want to go see him again.
After the numerous train wrecks I've seen him perform throughout the years (along with some stellar performances),
I'm thankful that I can leave a Dylan concert again and witness a bit of the old magic".

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-12-06 01:18 by Hairball.

Now there's a thought Doxa! This set would do me just fine (ok I cheated given I swiped one from Dirty Work but figured you'd forgive me...)

I go wild
Oh no not you again
Sad sad sad
Flip the switch
Almost hear you sigh
Out of tears
Don't stop
Rough justice
Doom and gloom
Rock and a hard place
Thief in the night
The worst
Love is strong
Out of control
One hit
Mixed emotions
Saint of me
You got me rocking

Satisfaction
Street fighting man

Quote
OzHeavyThrobber
Now there's a thought Doxa! This set would do me just fine (ok I cheated given I swiped one from Dirty Work but figured you'd forgive me...)

I go wild
Oh no not you again
Sad sad sad
Flip the switch
Almost hear you sigh
Out of tears
Don't stop
Rough justice
Doom and gloom
Rock and a hard place
Thief in the night
The worst
Love is strong
Out of control
One hit
Mixed emotions
Saint of me
You got me rocking

Satisfaction
Street fighting man

Goes to show that one man's junk is another man's treasure indeed...I'll pass!
Give me a warhorse laden Stones show any day over this, and I'll be more than happy and filled with satisfaction!

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

Quote
OzHeavyThrobber

If he were playing venues as large as the Stones and charging the extraordinary prices they do then people could rightly bitch that he should play 20 classics and then leave the stage. I'm glad he's not though.

This is true, but I can't help but feel a bit sad that this is what 'standard' rock and roll show has been turned to be like: the urge to get maximal profits is based on the taste of the 'consumers', which dictates the artistic nature of the show. If the people don't get what they pay for, they have the right to complain. So for example, the Stones are 'forced' to play all their familiar hits, like there is no real option. I mean, there is nothing wrong with that, just following a normal show business law. The band gets huge profits, seemingly enjoy what they do, and make millions of people happy.

Dylan's not a stadium act, and is 'doomed' to play in smaller arenas and for lesser money, but probably that is the cost of his artistic freedom? Being like he is like, I think he actually don't have other option than to follow his muse. He's an artist, he don't look back... There's a kind of non-compromised purity in him I have always admired in him, since that is common at all, especially to a performer of his status. Funnily I recall him saying in his autobiography, when reflecting the 80's artistic downhill years, that his reputation can fill up the stadiums, but he can't...

But comparing Stones shows to Dylan concerts is really apples to oranges, and both are excellent in what they do (and as artists they have always followed rather separate paths, the Stones always been more 'commercial', even there have been some over-lapping and similarities along the way). It could be that the Stones play more for 'casual' fans (and that's where the big money is), wheras Dylan more for 'hardcore' fans, even though I don't think Dylan gives a damn about them either, really. He just succeeds to please them rather good (or he has educated them well...). As a big admirer of both of them it is funny how different things one gets from their live gigs. It is good to have them both!

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-12-06 01:43 by Doxa.

Quote
Hairball
the thought of the Stones playing only tunes from their last 4 or 5 albums (give or take a classic here and there) has been discussed earlier in this thread.
Whereas Dylan is able to pull it off due to his recent output since Time Out of Mind being of high quality for the most part, I don't think I could handle seeing a Stones show with a similar format due to the inferior product - and that's putting it mildly. To be blunt about it, I think it would border on being ridiculous.

Yeah, there is a difference in quality in compared to their earlier works, and even though Kyle above offers an interesting set list, it could be that if the Stones had followed the policy of 'let's play mostly recent stuff' the days of touring might be over by now. The people might have voted by their feet, and the Stones might have reduced their act to Dylan-like level in businesswise, which I think would never motivate Mick Jagger to do anything. But then again, the Stones also educated their audiences what to expect from them, and I think that also applies for the 'hardcore' fans who actually go to their shows. If we look at the show reviews in IORR (full of hardcore fans), they are VERY positive generally. The set list complaints is another issue altogether, usually made by people who do not attend the shows.

I think the biggest difference is that Dylan succeeded to create almost a new career and musical persona - with a new voice - from 1997 on (even though the process started from the 80's already and had different stages before the artistic recovery of TIME OUT OF MIND), which actually has not very much to do with the legendary Dylan of the past. Of course, there are lots of people for whom Dylan is that legend from the past and anything they expect from him is associated with that idea. For them a recent Dylan show might be a shock. But interestingly, Dylan not only having convinced his hardcore fans of the strenght of his new material and persona, he actually has succeeded charming new audiences by his recent doings. The 'new' Dylan seems to do rather well by his own means.

With the Stones the band, their fanbase and possible audience all seem to agree on that the closer they present or simulate the idea of their legendary past, of that band and its music, the better. I think now one really wants them to change. Mick Jagger alone is a living proof that nothing is changed, and cannot be changed as far as a Rolling Stones show go. The setlist, based on their 60's and 70's material, is another.

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-12-06 02:44 by Doxa.

Quote
Silver Dagger
Didn't he shout out for any favourites? You know, make it more like a real gig.

more to the point . . . did he stand and dance?

and if he did, did the roadies yell at him to sit?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-12-06 06:16 by Rokyfan.

Quote
Doxa

Dylan's not a stadium act, and is 'doomed' to play in smaller arenas and for lesser money, but probably that is the cost of his artistic freedom? Being like he is like, I think he actually don't have other option than to follow his muse. He's an artist, he don't look back... There's a kind of non-compromised purity in him I have always admired in him, since that is common at all, especially to a performer of his status. Funnily I recall him saying in his autobiography, when reflecting the 80's artistic downhill years, that his reputation can fill up the stadiums, but he can't...

- Doxa

He isn't doomed. He can and does play large market arenas. The Beacon Theatre holds about 1,800 people and he just finished 5 shows there, but two years ago he played Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where the Stones played just a few weeks later. So one big show vs. several little shows. For any particular show/tour, he's as "big" as he wants to be.

He could easily do a theatrical cash-in stadium tour every 4-5 years, go out on the B stage for the solo/acoustic Mr. Tambourine Man, and sound closer vocally to his old self than he leads you to believe. The irony about Bob Dylan is that despite being a notorious recluse, he is widely available to his fans in whatever concert format they want.

He's a working, evolving artist, and people like that tend to tour a lot. Perhaps this level of availability is what he wants, so that he can play small theatres like a regular musician.

Columbia Records announced today that Bob Dylan's new studio album, Shadows In The Night, will be released on February 3, 2015. Featuring ten tracks, the Jack Frost-produced album is the 36th studio set from Bob Dylan and marks the first new music from the artist since 2012’s worldwide hit Tempest.

Upon Columbia’s announcement of the album’s forthcoming release, Bob Dylan commented, “It was a real privilege to make this album. I've wanted to do something like this for a long time but was never brave enough to approach 30-piece complicated arrangements and refine them down for a 5-piece band. That's the key to all these performances. We knew these songs extremely well. It was all done live. Maybe one or two takes. No overdubbing. No vocal booths. No headphones. No separate tracking, and, for the most part, mixed as it was recorded. I don't see myself as covering these songs in any way. They've been covered enough. Buried, as a matter a fact. What me and my band are basically doing is uncovering them. Lifting them out of the grave and bringing them into the light of day.”

As Columba Records Chairman Rob Stringer explains, “There are no strings, obvious horns, background vocals or other such devices often found on albums that feature standard ballads. Instead, Bob has managed to find a way to infuse these songs with new life and contemporary relevance. It is a brilliant record and we are extremely excited to be presenting it to the world very soon.”

SHADOWS IN THE NIGHT TRACK LISTING:

1. I'm A Fool To Want You
2. The Night We Called It A Day
3. Stay With Me
4. Autumn Leaves
5. Why Try to Change Me Now
6. Some Enchanted Evening
7. Full Moon And Empty Arms
8. Where Are You?
9. What'll I Do
10. That Lucky Old Sun
Shadows In The Night is available now for pre-order on iTunes and Amazon.
[www.bobdylan.com]

Dylan's entire Beacon run is up on Dime. I am deep into that Dec. 3 show as I type (reviewed above and in Rolling Stone) . It is just excellent! Clear, coherent singing and phrasing that that enhances rather than detracts. Totally connected to the music, Dylan is killing it and he knows it. And that band...Damn!

Forgetful Heart is just lovely.

This really needs to be released as a live album, I just don't think they can get a Better latter-day performance from this guy. I highly recommend the download!

Ross

Quote
Ross
Dylan's entire Beacon run is up on Dime. I am deep into that Dec. 3 show as I type (reviewed above and in Rolling Stone) . It is just excellent! Clear, coherent singing and phrasing that that enhances rather than detracts. Totally connected to the music, Dylan is killing it and he knows it. And that band...Damn!

Forgetful Heart is just lovely.

This really needs to be released as a live album, I just don't think they can get a Better latter-day performance from this guy. I highly recommend the download!

Ross

Let's hope a good old time live album - or DVD - is to be released from the tour (and not decades later as BOOTLEG SERIES VOL. hundred something...). I haven't listened Beacon yet, but from the base of my Dylan concerts during a year, I pretty much believe the reviews. He and the band with rather fixed set lists is on fire at the moment. For a reason or other Dylan has not been into releasing live albums since the beginning of NEVER ENDING TOUR (the unplugged thing being an exception) - I wonder if that is something to with the concept of the whole tour - one must need to experience the thing live, and no other second hand documentation is allowed or offered. Playing live seem to such a sacred and once in a life time thing for the man I guess...

Anyway, I recall some of British date a year ago was said to be recorded, and there was a rumour about a possibe live album. But nothing happened.

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-12-11 18:31 by Doxa.

I loved Dylan's rendition to "Full Moon, Empty Arms"

Dylan's phases are fascinating; just consider the following

1. 1961: Woody Guthrie / trad blues folkie
2. 1962 - 1963: Protest singer
3. 1964: Acoustic romantic
4. 1965 - 1966: Ghost of electricity Electric Folk Rock
5. 1967: Basement Tapes folk, country, rockabilly influenced artist
6. Late 1967-1968: Stripped down country/folk tales
7. 1969 - 1970: Country balladeer
8. 1971 - 1973: Roots rocker, recording with Leon Russell and Pat Garrett OST
9. 1973 - 1974: Reunion with The Band. Arena Tour
10. 1974: Blood On The Tracks - a different sound
11. 1975 - 1976: Desire, Rolling Thunder. Smaller gigs
12. 1977: Divorce
13. 1978: Stadium & Arena Tour. Street Legal totally different to anything else before or since

14. 1979 - 1980: Gospel, God, Smaller venues
15. 1981 - Modification of Gospel material to include some secular stuff
16. 1983: Infidels - Bluesy sound with contemporary sheen
17. 1984: Stadium tour

I could go on, but Dylan has done his fair share of stadium / arena gigs and maybe he's fed up of them. He's done them with The Band, Tom Petty, the 1978 11 piece band, the Queens of Rhythm, etc.

He could still fill the stadiums, but I think he must feel been there, done that, got the T Shirt.

This guy must have felt like the lucky fans who were invited to see the Stones rehearsing in Paris, early this year.

[www.rollingstone.com]

Next album: he covers Sinatra classics...

[www.telegraph.co.uk]

Yes and 2015 is the centenary of Frank's birth so there will be lots of TV docs, films and concert footage around .
Which should do Bobs album no harm at all.
I'm still hoping that one day Keith will record an album of old standards, those songs that influenced him in his youth. Not just blues numbers either.
Better that than more mediocre originals with Steve Jordan which frankly will sell no better than Micks effort with Dave Stewart etc.

This is nothing to do with Dylan 2014 or 2015, but just wanted to share you this clip I find pretty funny. You know, Dylan is not well-known for speaking much, especially in his gigs, but here is an exception to a rule... It comes from Petty days in 1986, and is the guy drunk, stoned or whatever, he is on fire... smokin version of "Rolling Stone", by the way...





- Doxa

New Dylan interview:


Bob Dylan Does the American Standards His Way
In his first interview in nearly three years, the legendary singer-songwriter talks about his new disc, ‘Shadows in the Night,’ his love for Frank Sinatra and about life in his 70s

by Robert Love, AARP The Magazine, January 22, 2015

>BobDylan

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......